Lost Queen

Languoreth grows up in sixth-century Scotland, in a land of mountains and mist where her family keeps the Old Way of their ancestors. Her twin brother Lailoken is destined to become a Wisdom Keeper, a warrior and druid later known to history as Myrddin, or Merlin.

Their world is under pressure from two sides: a rising Christian faith that brings unrest and bloodshed, and Anglo-Saxon forces pushing in from the east.

War brings the warriors of Emrys Pendragon to her father's door. Among them is Maelgwn, and he and Languoreth form a passionate bond that a magical spell has helped to forge. But she is already promised in marriage to Rhydderch, son of the High King Tutgual, a ruler sympathetic to the followers of a charismatic monk named Mungo.

As Rhydderch's wife, Languoreth is thrown into violence and political intrigue and has to learn quickly how to adapt. Alongside Lailoken, she takes on the duty of defending the Old Way and her kingdom of Cadzow. If she fails, she risks losing both.

This is historical fantasy and the first volume of a trilogy, built on new scholarship about a queen who has largely vanished from history. It follows her from girlhood into marriage and combines divided loyalties and a clash of faiths with a setting full of myth, magic and the natural world.